Undervaluing calories in steps

markyw765 wrote: »

Garmin itself even thinks that the calories gained back for the steps done is higher?

Garmin shows you total active calories, not specifically active calories exceeding the activity rate you selected on MFP. You can't compare those numbers.

markyw765 wrote: »

Ok so because I've got it set to slightly active I will be achieving less calories in return Vs if I had it on inactive for instance?

Because the app and watch claim I should have higher calories burnt?

if you select a higher activity rate, you will get a higher base calorie goal but a smaller adjustment. The end total of calorie goal will be exactly the same.

Well, I don't know your stats, but 500 for 12k steps (and with activity level 'slightly active') sounds okay to me. I got 166 calories for 11594 steps and that's with 'sedentary' on MFP, way lower than you!

As for no adjustment for steps, only adjustment for exercise:
- your activity outside of exercise most likely didn't exceed lightly active.
(- extra technical detail/complication: your calories for the workout according to Garmin = calories including base metabolism, which is double counting, so in the adjustment it actually has to subtract those BMR calories to get the correct total adjustment. Ignore this comment if it seems too complicated Just know that if you do LONG exercise sessions and aren't very active outside of them, this issue can explain unexpected adjustment results)

Well, to potentially confuse you a bit more, I need to mention the setting 'negative calorie adjustment':
- if you have that turned on, then it truly doesn't matter which activity setting level you choose: you'll get the same final calorie goal
- if you have this option turned off, then I would recommend choosing the lower activity level setting, because your calorie goal would risk being too high for days when you aren't reaching 'lightly active' level

I personally:
- have negative calorie adjustments turned on
- have chosen sedentary as my activity level
Why? Because I'm often active but not always: I prefer to have extra calories left over at the end of an active day because I got a large adjustment, than to suddenly be lacking calories remaining on a sedentary day because I ate my base calorie goal and then got a large negative adjustment because I was inactive.

All of this can seem very complicated. But the end result is weight management, so the choices in themselves aren't the most important thing: the important thing is to choose your method and then track your weight for 4 to 6 weeks to check if your weight is evolving as expected (expected weight loss rate) and adjust if it isn't. MFP uses statistical averages, Garmin uses statistical averages, your calorie counting may or not be accurate,... so real life data trumps any tracker estimates

Your calorie adjustment is not based off a step count, but a complete day burn.

Your Garmin must estimate a higher number of calories burned compared to the set daily burn from MyFitnessPal, in order for an adjustment to be earned. If the number from your device is lower than the number from MyFitnessPal, then the adjustment will show as 0, or if you have enabled the negative adjustment option, then it will show as a negative amount earned and then deduct calories from your goal. When you do see a positive number adjustment, that number represents the amount of calories burned above your MFP goal and not the amount of calories burned for you workouts. This update appears in your diary as a Calorie Adjustment. The details of the adjustment's calculation can be viewed online by clicking the "i" on the adjustment line, or within the app by tapping on the adjustment.

When adding in manual exercises, or syncing single workouts from other app partners, those calories are automatically added to your set daily burn total on your MFP account and nutritional adjustments are immediately given. This can cause confusion when looking at your device adjustment because that number will lower or possibly zero out. This is normal because the number that your device compares its calories to (set daily burn from MFP) has now increased with the addition of new workout data and the distance between the two calories counts will be further apart.

Only when the Garmin number is greater than the MyFitnessPal number will you then earn the extra difference between the two as a positive adjustment.

If you have additional questions or concerns on this, please email our Support Team directly at support@myfitnesspal.com.